Loom grate cleaner



8, 1955 c. M. CULPEPPER ETAL 2,701,587

LOOM GRATE CLEANER Filed Sept. 21, 1953 5 R O T N E V m ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent LOOM GRATE CLEANER Coy M. Culpepper and Jael Culpepper,Greenville, S. C.

Application September 21, 1953, Serial No. 381,266

4 Claims. (Cl. 139-379) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in a loom cleaning device, and more particularly to a loomgrate cleaner designed to clean the filling fork grate on weaving loomsby removing loose threads, lint and other foreign material from suchgrate, to thereby avoid faulty operation of the loom stop mechanism.

It is now the ordinary practice to provide looms with weft or fillingdetecting mechanisms, usually comprising a grate mounted upon the lay,and a weft detecting fork mounted on the breast beam to cooperate withthe grate to determine whether or not filling has been laid in the shed,and on a failure thereof to effect a change in the loom operation, such,for instance, as stopping the loom. During weaving, especially withcertain kinds or characters of filling or weft threads, lint, dirt orother foreign matter is liable to accumulate on the grid, with theresult that in such case the detecting mechanism may fail in itsfunctional operation and call for loom stoppage when, as a matter offact, weft has been laid in the shed. To guard against this improperoperation of the weft detecting mechanism, the grid should be maintainedfree from lint and other like substances during the entire weavingoperation.

In these looms, a suitable lay is mounted for oscillation on the upperend of sword members, and at one or both ends of the loom, the grate orgrid is disposed adjacent the reed in the lay. Upon oscillation of thelay, the filling fork penetrates the grate and if there is a fillingpresent, such filling fork will be pivoted so as to not actuate stopmotion means. If there is no filling cast across the shed in the weavingoperation, the pivoted filling fork will penetrate the grate and willtherefore not be moved on its pivot and suitable stop motion means willbe set into motion for stopping the loom. When the above-mentioned loosepieces of thread or lint find lodgment across the grate or grid, thefilling fork will not be able to penetrate the openings in the grid orgrate, and the loom will not be stopped even though there is no fillingextending across the lay of the loom from one shuttle box to the other,thus resulting in thin places in the cloth.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a grate cleanerwhich will automatically remove from the grate, upon each oscillation ofthe lay away from beat-up position, any loose threads or lint which maybecome lodged in the grate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a loom filling gratecleaner which is characterized by being extremely durable and yet highlyeffective in cleaning of the filling grate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a loom grate cleanerembodying loosely mounted springs which vibrate so as to cleanthemselves and the grate following each beat-up of the lay, such springsbeing readily replaceable and adjustable relative to the loom pitman rodto obtain the most effective cleaning of the filling grate.

The above desired objects are accomplished by rigidly mounting on thepitman rod extending from the sword to the crank shaft of the loom, abracket which has mounted thereon individual cleaning means for engagingand thereby cleaning the slots of the grate as the loom moves away fromthe beat-up position and which is automatically removed from cooperationwith the grate upon a beat-up stroke of the lay due to the change inangularity between the pitman rod and the grate.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which 2,701,587 PatentedFeb. 8, 1955 'ice will appear as the description proceeds, the inventionresides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the detailsof construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understoodthat changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosedmay be made within the scope of the appended claims without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective detail of portions of a conventional loomprovided with the present invention to show the connection and operationthereof with the loom.

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the relationship of the loomgrate cleaner and loom as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed elevational view showing the mounting for theindividual cleaning means for the slots of the filling grate.

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred form of fillinggrate to be used with the grate cleaner of this invention.

Figure 5 is an elevational view similar to Figure 2 showing the gratecleaner mounted on an alternative form of loom pitman rod.

As the invention is concerned entirely with the grate and grate cleaningmechanism of an automatic loom and as the construction and operation ofthe automatic stop mechanisms therefor, as well as of the looms in whichthey are embodied are all well-known and familiar to those skilled inthe art, it is deemed only necessary here to illustrate portions ofordinary types of looms together with preferred forms of the presentinvention applied thereto.

Referring specifically to Figure 1, the loom frame 1 may be of usualconstruction provided with bearings 2 mounted at each side of the loomin which is journaled the crank shaft 3 having a crank 4. The lay 5oscillated by pitman rods 6, is carried by the usual swords 7 whichoscillate upon the usual rock shaft along the lower part of the loom.The pitman rod 6 pivotally connected to the crank 4 and upper end ofsword 7 adjacent the lay 5 effects oscillation of the lay upon rotationof shaft 3. Thus, as the crank shaft 3 is rotated, the lay will be givenits forward and rearward movements to effect the beat-up.

The lay 5 carries the usual reed 8 and as shown has mounted thereonadjacent one end of the reed the filling grid or grate 9, which may beconveniently secured to the lay in any appropriate manner as, forinstance, by connection with the back box-plate of the shuttle box.

As is well known in conventional loom structures, as generally describedabove, such looms are commonly rendered automatic by embodying therein aso-called filling fork mechanism which acts upon breakage or failure ofthe running filling, to effect a change in the operation of the loomsuch, for example, as either the stopping of the loom or the automaticreplenishment of the running filling supply. Such a filling forkmechanism usually comprises the two main elements of a grid such as 9carried by the lay, in front of which lies the path of the filling fromthe shuttle to the cloth, and secondly a. filling fork pivoted on a forkslide carried by the breast earn.

The preferred form of filling grate 9 illustrated on Figure 4 comprisesa substantially U-shaped plate with the ends thereof bent outwardly fromthe ends of the U, such plate being formed with a plurality of parallelelongated slots 10 extending throughout a major portion of the length ofthe plate which makes up the grate. This plate is further provided withan outwardly extending slotted tab 11 to facilitate attachment andproper adjustment of the plate in position on the lay as by connectionthereof to the back box-plate of the shuttle box.

To most effectively illustrate the invention as applied to a loom ofmore or less conventional structure, only one corner or end of the loomhas been shown. It is well known that in some loom constructions afilling detecting mechanism is provided at both ends of the loom. Inthese latter constructions it is contemplated that the loom grate andhereinafter-described grate cleaning device of our invention will beprovided adjacent the pitman rods at each end of the loom.

Figure 1 illustrates one generally well-known type of pitman rod 6 whichconsists of a central bar 15 usually made of wood and a pair of U-shapedstraps 16 respectively engaging the crank 4 at one end of the pitman rodand the pivot pin at the upper end of the sword 7 on the lay 5. Thesestraps embrace the sides of the central bar and have at each of theirends outwardly extending flanges 17 which are engaged by bolts 18 whichdraw the U-shaped straps toward one another to retain the pitman rodassembly on the crank 4 and pivot pin on the lay 5.

A mounting plate 19 for the grate cleaning device is secured to theunder side of the strap 16 adjacent the lay 5 by the lower bolt 18joining flanges 17 and a bolt 20 which extends through the legs of theU-shaped strap 16 and the central bar 15. Slots are provided in theplate 19 to be engaged by the bolts 18 and 20 so that the mounting platemay be readily adjusted laterally with respect to the pitman rod toproperly align the hereinafter described cleaning means, with the slotsof the grate 9 mounted on the lay 5. The plate 19 further has verticallyextending flanges 21 and 22 which are slotted to accommodate the holdingscrews which mount the grate cleaning device thereon.

The grate cleaning device is mounted on the flanges 21 and 22 bysecuring screws 26 and 27 extending through slots in the plate and thecorresponding slots in the respective flanges 21 and 22. The provisionof slots in both the plate 25 and the two vertical flanges 21 and 22enables proper adjustment of the plate 25 relative to the pitman rod 6so as to obtain the most effective operation of the cleaning device asactuated during oscillation of the lay 5.

The plate 25 has a portion extending upwardly and forwardly toward thefilling grate 9 with the outer end thereof perpendicular to the generalplane of the plate 25 to provide a mounting surface 28 for the cleanersupports. A series of upwardly and downwardly facing U-shaped rods 29and 30, respectively, are secured to the surface 28 by one leg of eachof such U-shaped rods being suitably connected as by welding to suchsurface. Each pair of these rods 29 and 30 is connected with the freeouter ends thereof spaced and aligned so as to provide a mounting forone of the individual cleaning members which cooperate with theelongated slots 10 in the filling grate 9.

These cleaning members consist of coil springs 31 which are positionedover the free spaced outer ends of each pair of rods 29 and 30. Thesprings 31 loosely fit on the free ends of the rods 29 and 30 so that asthe plate 25 is moved by reason of its being mounted on the pitman rod6, these springs will enter the respective slots 10 in the filling grate9 and effect a cleaning of such grate following each beat-up of the lay.

The cleaning members which may be made in the form of coil springs ortubes are preferably made of metal so as to have the desired resiliencyto create a vibrating jingling action of the springs relative to themounting rods. However, it is contemplated that any suitable durablerigid material may be used in forming the coiled springs or tubes, suchas plastic or other material which will retain its formed shape whenpositioned on the mounting rods.

A particular advantage in the use of the metal or resilient plasticspring or tube structure resides in the fact that such springs or tubesare not subject to the undesirable wear which, as is well known, takesplace in the presently used types of loom grate cleaners which utilizevarious forms of fiber brushes in cleaning the grate. Additionally, theloose mounting of the springs 31 on the rods 29 and 30 enables thesesprings to freely vibrate upon operation of the loom. This vibration ofthe springs creates a jingling action which serves to keep the coilsprings clean themselves and enhances the cleaning performed by thedevice as it cooperates with the filling rate.

g The coil springs 31 made of metal, plastic or other suitable materialare designed to vibrate on the mounting rods 29 and 30 which retain suchsprings in place on the grate cleaning device. In cooperating with thegrate slots during oscillation of the lay, these springs are of such asize as to not fit too tightly within the grate slots. This keeps thesprings from hanging in the grate and the vibration of the loom duringoperation thereof keeps the springs spinning around, up and down, andthus prevents the springs from filling up with lint, while at the sametime cleaning the filling grate on each oscillation of the lay. It willreadily be appreciated that the structure of the mounting rods 29 and 30with their spaced aligned ends permits easy removal and replacement ofthe springs 31 should such replacement become necessary.

Having hereinbefore described the structure of our improved loom gratecleaner, reference will now be had to the operation of the cleaner inmaintaining the filling grate of the loom free of lint, et cetera,during loom operation. With the grate cleaning device mounted on thepitman rod 6 and the crank shaft 3 turning in a clockwise direction,when the crank 4 is positioned as shown in Figure 1, the lay will bestarting toward beat-up position. As the loom continues toward beat-upof the filling, the crank 4 will travel down to its lowermost positionand then rise as it goes in a clockwise manner so that the springs 31will be moving toward the slots 10 in the grate 9 when the crank throwis all the way to the beat-up position. The springs 31 will havecompletely entered the grate slots to efiect the cleaning action whenthe crank throw reaches the position shown in Figure 2. Continuedrotation of the crank shaft 3 after moving the lay to beat-up positioncauses the crank 4 to effect backward oscillation of the lay 5 duringwhich time the springs move in and then out of the grate slots.

It is thus seen that the springs 31 cooperate with the slots 10 in thegrate 9 to clean such grate on each movement of the lay away from thebeat-up position. Therefore the springs perform the cleaning action onthe backward motion of the lay, at which time the filling is not presentadjacent the grate and such cleaning action accordingly will notinterfere with the proper action of the filling fork.

Figure 5 illustrates a cleaning device similar to the cleaning device inFigure 1, but applied to a loom having an alternative form of pitman rodconstruction. The pitman rod of this alternative form is characterizedby having a spring 40 interconnecting the end 41 coupled to the crank 4and the end 42 pivotally connected to the lay 5 mounted on the upper endof the swords 7. This form of pitman rod construction is suitablyprovided with a plate 43 which is slotted to adjustably support themounting plate 44 to which is secured the grate cleaning device. Thismounting plate 44 is provided with slots similar to the slots formed inthe vertical flanges 21 and 22 of mounting plate 19 of the embodimentshown in Figure 1, these slots likewise being utilized to adjustablymount the plate 25 on the pitman rod to effect cleaning of the fillinggrate 9 during loom operation.

It will be readily recognized that the operation of the cleaning devicemounted on the pitman rod construction of Figure 5 is substantiallyidentical to the operation of the cleaning device on the form of pitmanrod shown in Figures 1 and 2. Accordingly the description of theoperation of the device as set forth for the first form of pitman rodconstruction similarly applies to the loom having the alternative pitmanrod structure.

The filling grate cleaner as described hereinbefore may be readilyapplied to all types of looms having a variety of different lengths andstyles of pitman rods, the adaptation of the cleaner necessitating onlya variation in the mounting plate which is secured to the pitman rod.The advantages inherent in the filling grate cleaner as described aboveare apparent in that the cleaner continuously maintains the fillinggrate of the loom free of lint, threads and other foreign materialduring operation of the loom. Maintaining the filling grate continuouslyclean will minimize the cloth seconds having thin places in the clothwhich may be caused by stopped-up filling grates. Obviously theutilization of this automatic filling grate cleaner will dispense withthe necessity of the manual cleaning of the grates by a brush and removethe necessity for stopping the loom for hand cleaning.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a loom having an oscillating lay provided with a grate into whicha filling fork is adapted to project upon oscillation of the lay in onedirection, said lay having a pitman rod pivotally connected thereto andto a crank shaft for imparting oscillations to the lay, a mounting platesecured to the pitman rod having vertically extending portions providedwith elongated slots, a second plate having slots therein, connectormeans cooperating with the respective slots in said mounting plate andsaid second plate to adjustably mount said second plate on said mountingplate, said second plate having an upwardly and forwardly extendingportion with the outer end thereof provided with a surface normal to thegeneral plane of said second plate, a plurality of pairs of mountingrods secured to said surface with portions of each pair of rods beingaxially aligned, and coiled resilient members freely supported on eachpair of rods to cooperate with the loom grate upon each oscillation ofthe lay away from beat-up position.

2. In a loom having a lay provided with a grate and a crankshaft with apitrnan rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay forimparting oscillatory movement to the lay, a grate cleaning deviceincluding a bracket mounted on the pitman rod to move simultaneouslytherewith, parallel upstanding mounting rods on said bracket with atleast one such mounting rod for each slot in the grate, said rods beingcarried by said bracket so as to be movable through the slots in thegrate upon each oscillation of the lay, an individual cleaning memberloosely retained on each of said mounting rods, said members beingfreely vibratable'relative to said mounting rods so that during loomoperation said members will be self-cleaning as the lay oscillates.

3. In a loom having a lay provided with a grate and a crankshaft with apitman rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay for impartingoscillatory movement to the lay, a grate cleaning device mounted on thepitman rod to move simultaneously therewith, said device havingindividual cleaning means for each slot in the grate extending towardthe grate and adapted to extend through the slots in the grate upon eachoscillation of the lay away from beat-up position, said cleaning meanscomprising coiled members loosely retained on said device to permit saidmembers to freely vibrate during loom operation to effectively clean themembers and the grate after each beat-up of the lay.

4. In a loom having an oscillating lay provided with a grate into whicha filling fork is adapted to project upon oscillation of the lay in onedirection, said lay having a pitman rod pivotally connected thereto andto a crankshaft for imparting oscillations to the lay, a bracketadjustably mounted on the pitman rod adjacent the end pivotallyconnected to the lay, said bracket projecting upwardly above the pivotpoint between the pitman rod and lay and toward the grate, individualcleaning means for each slot of the grate mounted on the forward end ofsaid bracket to cooperate with the grate upon oscillation of the lay inone direction due to the change of angularity between the lay and thepitman rod and to move away from the grate when the lay oscillates inthe other direction, said individual cleaning means each comprising apair of axially aligned rods mounted on said bracket in a planesubstantially parallel to the slots in the grate and a coiled springloosely supported on said rods so as to be freely movable in cooperatingwith the grate to thereby clean the grate on each oscillation of the layaway from beat-up position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS745,473 Austin Dec. 1, 1903 973,741 Armstead Oct. 25, 1910 1,651,148 Nixet a1 Nov. 29, 1927 2,367,564 Cooper Jan. 16, 1945

